Tiago Monteiro qualifying report

Curitiba

Tiago Monteiro secures a pole position... but will start in 10th place on the grid! The new WTCC regulation sows confusion

Tiago Monteiro fell victim to a subtlety in the new sporting regulations
of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), today on the circuit at
Curitiba (Brazil) where the first races of the 2011 season are to be
held.

The SEAT SUNRED driver had the best time in the first qualifying test
session (Q1), but will fall back to 10th place on the starting grid for
the second race, according to the championship's new sporting
regulations. In fact, the final starting grid for Race 2 is established
based on the results of Q1, where the first 10 drivers are ranked in
reverse order of their result. "This is the exact scenario we were afraid
of," Tiago laments, "In Q1 some drivers won't chase the performance, they
want to be as close as possible of the pole position of the second race.
I was 4th at the end of my first run and I should have called it a day.
Unfortunately my last lap was too fast, that beats everything for a sport
where speed is the rule number 1!"

In the interest of the sport and the event, Tiago hopes that the FIA,
(the Fidiration Internationale de l'Automobile), which has always made
the right decision in the past will organize a consultation with all of
the WTCC partners to adapt this new regulation specific to Q1.

In the interest of the sport and the event, Tiago hopes that the FIA,
(the Fidiration Internationale de l'Automobile), which has always made
the right decision in the past will organize a consultation with all of
the WTCC partners to adapt this new regulation specific to Q1.

In the second qualifying session (Q2), where the final order determines
the starting grid lineup for Race 1, Tiago was fighting to get into the
top 6 when the rains came, disrupting his progress. "I had a good time
but it was impossible to improve with the second set of tyres," explains
the driver of the SEAT Lesn TDI No 18 car. "Despite my disappointment, I
know that SEAT and SUNRED have done a very good job and that if luck
smiles upon us we will be able to climb the rankings in both races and
score precious points in the first race meeting of the season."